LAS VEGAS – Johnny Bedford had been itching to get back in the octagon, having waited more than a year to return after a win in his UFC debut.

The wait was probably worth it for him. Bedford, a TUF 14 veteran, put his “Brutal” nickname on display by taking out “TUF Brazil” vet Marcos Vinicius with a devastating TKO a minute into the second round.

The bantamweight bout was part of the preliminary card of The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale event at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. It aired on FUEL TV following additional prelims on Facebook and prior to a main card on FX.

Bedford tried to put his reach advantage to work early and backed Vinicius up. But 40 seconds in, he shot for a takedown and landed it nicely – then had to fend off a brief guillotine choke attempt from Vinicius. After working from inside Vinicius’ guard, Bedford elected to go back to the feet against the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

Back on the feet, Bedford started peppering in shots to the body to go along with a stiff jab. Then, as Vinicius dropped his hands, Bedford landed a right hand that put Vinicius on his back. Bedford quickly was on top of him landing ground and pound, and as Vinicius tried to regain his wits, Bedford went to work from side control before finishing the round landing more body shots back on the feet.

Bedford’s success on the feet continued in the second round, and after a low blow from Vinicius, Bedford became a monster on the restart.

A straight right hand put Vinicius on the canvas. Bedford was on him immediately. As Vinicius looked to get back to his feet, Bedford landed a perfectly placed kick to the body that kept his opponent on the ground. And from there, a few more shots from “Brutal” Bedford was all he needed. The end came at 1:00 of the second round.

“That was the game plan,” Bedford said. “I kept working to my right, put him against the fence, dropped him with a straight right hand and finished him. I’ve had a rough 2012 – this was my first fight since December of last year, and I’m glad to be back.”

Bedford (19-9-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) won for the second straight time since signing with the UFC and now has won three straight and eight of his past nine fights. Vinicius (20-4-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who won his UFC debut at UFC 147 in June, had a four-fight win streak snapped with the loss and was finished for the first time in more than four years.

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

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